Gender, Personality Traits, and Resilience as Determinants of Productivity among Nurses

Nursing productivity is central to the efficiency and sustainability of healthcare systems, particularly in resource-constrained environments with high workforce demands. This study examined gender, psychological resilience, and personality attributes as determinants of productivity among nurses in a metropolitan hospital setting in Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and data were collected from 379 nurses (24 males, 6.3%; 355 females, 93.7%) in Uyo Metropolis, Akwa Ibom State, aged 25-59 years (M = 36.16), using convenience sampling. Standardised instruments measuring productivity, resilience, and the Big Five personality traits were administered alongside a demographic questionnaire. Data were analysed using Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, independent samples t-test and ANOVA. Findings indicated a significant main effect of gender on productivity, F(1, 375) = 10.25, p < .01, with female nurses reporting higher productivity than males. Psychological resilience also significantly predicted productivity, F(1, 375) = 13.56, p < .01, highlighting its role in sustaining effective performance under clinical stress. However, the interaction between gender and resilience was not significant, F(1, 375) = 1.78, p > .05, suggesting that resilience operates uniformly across gender groups. Furthermore, personality traits- particularly openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism-significantly predicted productivity, underscoring the importance of dispositional factors in shaping work performance. Overall, the findings demonstrate that nursing productivity is influenced by an interplay of demographic, psychological, and personality variables. The study contributes empirical evidence from a developing-country healthcare context and supports the implementation of gender-sensitive policies, resilience-enhancement programmes, and personality-informed workforce management strategies to optimise nursing performance and healthcare delivery outcomes.